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I'm beginning to beat the bushes for a used flats boat, not in any hurry. Of course I'm considering the well knowns like Hewes and Maverick but was wondering what others I should consider. Thoughts?

The Sea Chaser Flats series is very similar to the Maverick hull, designed by Bob Hewes so I'm told. Sea Chaser makes a heck of boat, solid and stable platform.

I went through that last year. I spent a lot of time perusing FS classified, craigslist, iboats and boat trader. I liked boat trader the best as it was easy to search. Also look on ebay. I did all that to get a feel for what folks were asking and I would then check Blue Book online. I wound up with a 01 Ranger Cayman 184 and am very happy with it-there were newer boats and bigger boats and cheaper boats-it was just the best mix for what I was looking for on size, price and features. There are deals out there, you are looking at the perfect time. I spent a few weekends driving around and looking and would check boats out on the ramps too. I did not ask many owners if they liked their rig, cause they all love what they own, but I did ask specific questions (is it dry, how does it handle chop, is there enough power, fishability, etc).

I made a list of what the boat had to have in features and ranked them and then started looking around. Good luck, the search is the fun part.

PS ******** is the best boat ever made and if you don't get one of those, you will be sorry forever. (you can put any name in the ***** area and find a ton of people to agree and even more that will disagree!). get one you are happy with and you will have a great boat.

PS there are a ton of other good ones, read online reviews. After a lot of searching, I eliminated 5-6 brands from my searches. I will not say which, cause someone will tell me I am nuts. I was selling my Carolina Skiff Semi V and one very important feature was a dry ride. That cut the number of boats down by quite a few, you can find plenty of people complaining about the wetness of various makers.

Look at East Cape Canoes. They have some killers flats boats.

stay away from the Lostman if you want a dry ride.

After owning several brands and testing/fishing dozens more professionally I can attest there are some good skiffs out there and many others less so. As Onefish pointed out, the search is part of the fun and he had a very methodical way to approach it. A few more points to consider:

1. Determine your budget and then plan on spending more once you buy the boat to accessorize for your fishing style
2. How shallow do you fish and what's your normal crew? A 16-footer is fine for two anglers but gets very crowded with any more.
3. Will you fish/cross open water often?
4. Will you pole, use a trolling motor or both. The better riding and drier boats are typically harder to pole (more deadrise). Lighter skiffs float and pole easier but don't handle rough water as well=wet
5. What's your tow vehicle?
6. Where will you keep it? Will it fit in the garage, for example, or will you need a collapsible tongue on the trailer?
7. Do you live bait or throw artificials? Makes a difference with live well needs.
8. Four-stroke for fuel economy or two-stroke for lighter weight/hole shot
9. Fiberglass or aluminum? More maintenance vs. lighter weight typically and more noise on metal hulls
10. Resale value: Better known brands are easier to unload than a custom or small builder when you get ready for an upgrade
11. Storage, storage, storage
12. What optional gear is included, like push pole, trolling motor, electronics, jackplate, SS prop

Great post. A lot of those are what I went through. 12 is important, cause if you are patient, you can find one in your price range that has the toys on it you want. Some deals are not really deals when you start adding all the things you can't live without.

ECC Vantage will be my next boat.

I have an 2000 18' Hewes that I have been thinking about selling, it has all the goodies already on it.

If you are putting three kids through college, I would recommend a Gheenee and a trolling motor. It is a greats flats boat as long as its not to choppy , or windy, and it is great on fuel.

If you are leaning towards a Technical poling skiff I would recommend speaking with Harry Spear of Spear Boatworks. He has just finished two new hull designs that are stellar. He is building boats out of Panacea, and literally a living legend in saltwater angling. http://www.spearboatworks.com/

Great info folks, thanks. Still looking and will consider all the points made on this thread. I'll report back when a purchase is made.

You should go take a look at Ty's 1820 ActionCraft. Excellent hull, quiet and I'm sure it's been well cared for.

Very reasonable price too, if it hasn't sold already.

silverking wrote:You should go take a look at Ty's 1820 ActionCraft. Excellent hull, quiet and I'm sure it's been well cared for.

Very reasonable price too, if it hasn't sold already.

Is it on the web somewhere?

Nevermind, I found it.